“I know.”
“If it spreads to the calves?—”
“Don’t say it.” My throat burns. “Just don’t.”
I lean down beside another cow that’s gone still except for the labored way her ribs rise and fall. There’s foam around her mouth.
She’s not fighting anymore; she’s just hanging on.
Boone nudges her face, whining when she doesn’t move. His whole body quivers, and he looks back at me, confused, desperate for direction. It guts me.
“Easy, boy,” I murmur, hand brushing his back. “I’m here.”
Tex jogs to the gate and back, checking the perimeter. “Any chance they got into something?” he asks.
“I’ve walked this pasture three times since sunrise,” I say. “No poisonous weeds, no chemicals, nothing broken into. Water tank’s clean. Mineral blocks are fine. Feed stores sealed. Nothing’s changed.”
Tex blows out a long breath, the kind of sound he makes when he wants to punch something.
Jasper sprints toward us from the far edge of the field. “We’ve got another one going down,” he yells.
Tex and I follow him at a run. Boone barrels ahead, barking again.
This cow is worse than the others.
She’s thrashing. Her legs kick at the air. Her eyes roll back white, showing more panic than sense. Foam sprays every time she gasps.
“Damn,” Tex murmurs, crouching beside her. “She’s bloating too fast. She might crash before Sedona gets here.”
“What do we do?” Jasper asks, voice frayed.
Tex grimaces. “If she ruptures?—”
“Don’t say it,” I snap again. “Just help me roll her.”
We haul the cow onto her chest, trying to keep her from lying flat where she’ll lose the fight completely. It takes all three of us.
Boone barks so loud my ears ring, tail stiff with anxiety. The cow lets out a long, guttural scream.
It rattles the fence line. It rattles whatever part of me is still holding together.
Jasper claps both hands over his ears. “I can’t listen to that. I can’t?—”
“Yes, you can,” Tex says. “We’re not losing her.”
He keeps his grip under the cow’s neck, steadying her as her legs kick again.
My phone buzzes. I yank it out, praying for news, but it’s just one of the Austin numbers calling back. I answer, but the moment I try explaining, the connection crackles and dies.
“Dammit!” I slap my palm against my thigh hard enough to sting.
Tex watches me, jaw tight. “Sedona’s our only chance right now.”
“I know.”
“You’re pissed at me for calling her.”
“I’m pissed this is happening at all.”
